The Century Handbook of Writing Part 42

desert (a barren country) dessert (food)

dining room dinning

disappear disappoint

disavowal dissatisfaction dissimilar dissipate dissuade

decent (adjective) descent (downward slope or motion) dissent (a disagreement)

 

dual (adjective) duel (noun)

formally (in a formal way) formerly (in time past)

forth forty four fourth

freshman freshmen (not used as adjective)

gambling (wagering money on games of chance) gamboling (frisking or leaping with joy)

guard regard

hear here

hinder hindrance

holly (a tree) holy (hallowed, sacred) wholly (altogether)

hoping (from _hope_) hopping

instance (an example) instants (periods of time)

isle (an island) aisle (a narrow pa.s.sage)

its (possessive p.r.o.noun) it's (contraction of _it is_)

Johnson, Samuel Jonson, Ben

later (comparative of _late_) latter (the second)

lead (present tense) led (past tense)

lessen (verb) lesson (noun)

liable (expresses responsibility or disagreeable probability) likely (expresses probability)

loose (free, not bound) lose (to suffer the loss of)

maintain maintenance

nineteenth ninetieth ninety ninth

past (adjective, adverb, preposition) pa.s.sed (verb, past tense)

peace (a state of calm) piece (a fragment)

perceive perform persevere persuade purchase pursue

personal (private, individual) personnel (the body of persons engaged in some activity)

Philippines Filipino

plain (clear; adjective) plain (flat region; noun) plane (flat; adjective) plane (geometrical term; noun)

planed (past tense of _plane_) planned (past tense of _plan_)

pleasant please

precede proceed } succeed } these three are the exceed } "double _e_ group"

concede intercede recede supersede

pre ce dence (act or right of preceding) prec e dents (things said or done before, now used as authority or model)

presence (state of being present) presents (gifts)

prevail prevalent

princ.i.p.al (chief, leading, the leading official of a school, a sum of money) principle (a general truth)

quiet (still) quite (completely)

rain reign (rule of a monarch) rein (part of a harness)

respectfully ("Yours respectfully") respectively (in a way proper to each--should never be used to close a letter)

right rite (ceremony) write

shone (past tense of _s.h.i.+ne_) shown (past tense of _show_)

seize siege

sight (view, spectacle) site (situation, a plot of ground reserved for some use) cite (to bring forward as evidence)

speak speech

Spencer, Herbert (scientist) Spenser, Edmund (poet)

stationary (not moving) stationery (writing materials)

statue (a sculptured likeness) stature (height, figure) statute (a law)